[honestlyreally]

But virtually all mining is done near cheap renewable power.

People talk a lot about how much energy it uses, yet to see attempt at quantifying co2 emissions, they are likely quite low.

[ctz]

In a country with an electricity grid and 60% coal-based electricity generation.

[mikeash]

Couldn't that cheap renewable electricity be transmitted and used elsewhere if the miners weren't using it?

The disparity in energy use is so large that even if Bitcoin mining emitted only 1% of the CO2 per kWh that normal energy users do, it would still be far ahead.